Escape From Hogwarts
by Sallymander
Summary: Follow James and Lily as they experience many memorable adventures, including the birth of twin elves, and set out to fulfill the unknown prophecy. They go through hardships, new friends, and learn the true meaning of love.
1. Death Eater at Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. 

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my fourth serious fic, and I hope it turns out to be one of YOUR favorites, so please read and review! I hope you enjoy it! Also, this is rated PG-13 for some stuff later on…there's nothing right here that's really inappropriate.

Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 1: Death Eater at Hogwarts 

Lily Evans, a skinny, green-eyed, auburn-haired 7th year, was a good girl. She was the highest in all her classes, never slept with a guy, and had a promising future. Lily was going to be an auror one day, and with that she'd have to study hard. She was quite popular at her school, along with her three best friends, Cecilia Ferris, Misty Spritz, and Kandice Miercha. No one would've ever suspected Lily as a possible murderer or Death Eater.

James Potter was also a good student, but very mischievous. This handsome teen liked to play all sorts of pranks along with Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, the other three Marauders, especially on the Slytherins. As impish as he was, James had good grades too. His best class was Transfiguration. James wanted to be either a famous quidditch player or an auror when he grew up. He was also quite popular, with his warm chocolate eyes, messy dark hair, and muscles of a quidditch player. Nobody would've suspected him as a possible murderer or Death Eater either.

It was the middle of January, when a layer of fresh snow blanketed Hogwarts Grounds. The sun shone brightly, but not so much as to melt the snow. Students enjoyed their Friday afternoon either inside the warm castle or outside enjoying the cold. Either way, everyone was too busy having fun to notice what was happening in the way back of the Transfiguration classroom.

In the blink of an eye, the students who were outside were suddenly herded inside the building. All the teachers assembled them inside the Great Hall, where confusion buzzed around the room. The teachers then hurried to check the castle and spread word of a gathering in the Great Hall.

Meanwhile, Lily Evans was taking a break from a Transfiguration project with James. They both left the classroom and headed in different directions to the restroom, promising to be back in ten minutes. Both returned, only to find several members of the staff, including the Headmaster himself, standing in a circle around something…something that resembled a human.

"Dead…killing curse…poor fellow…" mutters came from the teachers, not yet noticing Lily or James.

"Headmaster? Professors? Is there something wrong?" Lily asked cautiously, stepping forward. She gasped as she recognized the familiar face of Professor Jooble, their Charms teacher. His eyes were glazed and open, with a look of shock and hate.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter please report to the Great Hall. I will be with the school shortly," Professor Dumbledore replied gravely.

Lily turned quickly, Professor Jooble's expression fresh on her mind. She grabbed James by the arm and dragged him out of the classroom.

"Hey! I wanted to see what it was!" James exclaimed once they were a good distance away from the charms room.

Lily glared at him. Then her face took on a look of fear, remembering her Charms professor's face. "No Potter, you don't want to," Lily whispered. It silenced James and they walked the rest of the way down without a word. The chatter of the Great Hall greeted James and Lily as they entered.

"Do you know why we're here?" Lily heard someone whisper to her friend.

"I heard there was a death," said another.

"Someone said the toilets got blown up."

"I bet Snape has something to do with this."

"I'm right here, you git."

Lily joined her friends, who were also wondering why every student, dripping with melted snow or trying not to get wet, was waiting in the Great Hall. She hesitated to tell them what she had seen, but then relented a bit.

"I heard there was some kind of death," she said meekly, shuddering at the memory of Professor Jooble's expression.

"Death?" Kandi, Lily's friend exclaimed. "Who besides the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who would want to kill someone at Hogwarts?"

Of course Kandi, short for Kandice, would have a sensible reply to Lily's statement. She was the calm, collected one, the gentle and quiet one. She wasn't as smart as Lily, but ranked pretty high in her classes. Kandi was the complete opposite of Lily's other best friend, Misty. Misty, a gorgeous blonde many of the male students were after, was a sweet, athletic, and smart teen. In other words, she was popular, like Lily and Kandi.

There was a fourth member of their posse, and her name was Cecilia. Cecilia fell behind in all her classes, and earned just a good enough grade to pass every year. Her looks, however, made up for her poor grades. She had a tall, skinny frame with curves in all the right places and dark chestnut hair that curled around her perfect face. Rather than studying to get good grades, she would disappear into the boys' dormitories doing who knows what. Basically, she was known as the school slut. Although she had a bad reputation, Cecilia was as kind and loyal to Lily as any best friend would be, even though she hated Kandi and Misty.

"I hope it's professor Jooble, if it _is_ really a death," Misty commented. "He's such a perv."

"I know!" Kandi replied. "I was getting my favorite eagle feather quill from the charms classroom when I walked in on him and Cecilia. Jooble claimed hat he had just been helping her catch up with the class, but I saw enough to know that he lied. Cecilia had her robe off (AN: they wore clothes under their robes…thank goodness) and his hand was up her skirt when I walked in!"

"That's so disgusting! And I thought it was bad when he was staring at my chest," Misty said in disdain.

"Well what else would you expect from Cecilia?" Kandi retorted. "Sorry Lily."

"It's ok," Lily sighed. "I know you two don't really like her." At that moment, Cecilia came up to Lily.

"Lily, dear, have you seen my wand?" she asked frantically. "I think I might have dropped it somewhere."

Lily looked surprised. "I cleaned it for you just this morning! We'll go look for it later."

"Thanks Lily. I swear I had it in my pocket," Cecilia shook her head, but looked grateful. She shook Lily's hands and hugged her.

Meanwhile, James was looking for his friends. When he finally found them, the first thing he said was, "You guys haven't been playing any pranks today, have you?"

They looked surprised and shook their heads. "Prongs, we've been outside having snowball fights the whole afternoon and morning," Sirius claimed. This wasn't exactly hard to believe either. James Potter's friends were so loyal they would rather be death eaters than pull a prank without James, especially Sirius Black. Sirius, nicknamed Padfoot, was James' best friend for as long as they could remember. He was charming and witty, especially to the girls. His looks weren't so bad either. With black hair that covered his seductive gray eyes and an ever so charming smile, who could resist him?

Remus Lupin, another loyal friend of James, was quite the opposite of Sirius, but with good looks too. His shaggy brown hair and warm brown eyes attracted girls of all kinds.

Peter Pettigrew, the fourth member of the Marauders, looked like he didn't belong in their group. He was small and mousy, with a nose that quivered and eyes that watered. His intelligence set him farther away from the group as well. Every year, he needed the help of all his friends just to get a passing grade. However, he was James' friend nonetheless.

"Oh my gosh James! You're all right!" Cecilia's false high-pitched voice exclaimed. "When I couldn't find you or Lily, I got _so_ worried!"

Cecilia, Lily's friend, was James' current girlfriend, even though everyone knew James was madly in love with Lily. James had decided to settle for Cecilia since he knew he wouldn't get Lily anytime soon, due to the fact that she called him a bullying toerag at least three times a day. Well, at least that's what James claimed.

"It's ok Cecilia. I'm right here, and I'm sure Lily's around here somewhere," James said, giving his girlfriend a kiss. He broke away quickly, not wanting to make a scene, but Cecilia grabbed his wrists and pulled him close to shove her tongue into his mouth.

"Mmm…no Cecilia…not in front of everyone, maybe later…tonight," James mumbled between kisses. As much of a slut Cecilia was, she was a good kisser, not too hesitant and not too pushy. She wasn't at all disturbed by people throwing them disgusted looks, obviously because she wanted the whole world to know that she was going out with the greatest looking guy in the school.

Purple sparks shot out from Albus Dumbledore's wand and created a noise loud enough to rattle the glass. All the students eagerly turned their heads toward him, waiting for the reason that interrupted their activities. By the look on the headmaster's face, it was not something good.

Albus cleared his throat once, then twice, and proceeded to tell the horrible news. "There has been a death here at Hogwarts. I'm sure all of you know Professor Jooble, our charms teacher?" the students nodded without hesitation and he continued, "Well, I am _very_ sorry to say that he has been murdered, by a death eater no doubt, but not with the killing curse. There is a death eater, possibly more, among us, so I will ask the prefects to lead the houses back into their common rooms for the rest of the day. Teachers will escort every student to dinner, the bathroom, hospital wing, or library. We will inform you when we have caught the death eater. That is all, so you may all leave with your prefects."

As soon as he spoke the last word, students rushed to find their prefects. They were all either in panic or too scared to speak. Some of them, anyway.

Later that night, Lily sat in front of the fire, scribbling away at her 12-inch essay that only had to be eight inches. Professor McGonagall was stationed at the entrance of the Gryffindor common room. A first year hobbled down the boys' dormitories, limping. "Professor McGonagall? I hurt my ankle. I think I need to go to the Hospital Wing," he cried, showing her a big green bruise.

"All right Smithers, let's go," the professor said sternly. "Lily? Will you make sure no one leaves the Gryffindor Tower?"

Lily looked up from her essay and nodded. "Get better, Smithers," she smiled warmly at the young boy. He smiled shyly back.

Not too minutes later did Lily hear muffled sounds coming from the boys dormitories. Lily looked up, slightly alarmed, until she saw two figures coming down the stairs.

James Potter stumbled down the stairs, unaware that there was someone in the room. He was too busy kissing Cecilia to notice. Lily was disgusted, as usual, and decided to interrupt them before Professor McGonagall came back.

"Cecilia! Don't you have an assay due tomorrow?" Lily's accusation startled the couple and they immediately sprang apart. Cecilia smiled sheepishly as she walked over to Lily, but not before giving James a good night kiss. "Potter, you'd better go."

"Alright. Bye Cecilia. I'll see you tomorrow morning," James winked at her and ran up the dormitory stairs just as the portrait door opened.

"Was everything ok, Lily?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Yes Professor," Lily replied. "Ok Cecilia. Start working on your essay."

A hard pecking at Lily's head awoke her to find that it was morning and her beautiful snowy owl, Snowdrop, was the cause of the pecking. She held out a package, and nipped Lily's finger affectionately before taking of again. Lily gently opened the package, careful not to wake Cecilia, who was slumped in the chair across from her. Inside, she found a ring the size of a grape and as red as blood, and a pair of headphones. _That's strange,_ Lily thought. _Why would __I get headphones without a CD player that wouldn't even work in Hogwarts?_ In answer to her question, she found a note inside the box.

_Dear Lily,_ it read_, Josh found this set in a regular old store, and we both thought it was a strange pair. Since you're a witch, I was hoping you knew what it was. Send my love to the family. Love, Uncle Max._

Lily smiled as she remembered her boisterous cousin Josh, who would be about the same age as her, and her loving uncle who loved to spoil her. She examined the ring, and found a tiny hole for the headphones to plug into. She turned the volume onto high on the headphones and instantly turned it down. She slowly turned it on high again, hearing what seemed like snores. Then the snores died away and she heard a female voice.

"No James! Don't leave me! It's Lily, isn't it?" the voice cried. Lily could sense jealousy in the girl's tone. Now she heard a familiar male voice come into the scene.

"Yes. It's Lily. I love her, Cecilia. Not you, her," the male replied, unemotional to the female's pleas.

Lily turned it off again, unable to bear the high-pitched voice and it's whines. It was good timing too, because Cecilia had just woken up, and Lily didn't want her to know that she was accidentally eavesdropping. Lily hastily stuffed the headphones and ring into the pocket of her robes, not wanting Cecilia to see them.

"Lily?" Cecilia whispered. "I had a really bad dream. James broke up with me. We were going to get married. I could see the ring on my finger. Then he left me. For…someone else."

This sounded familiar to Lily. "That person wouldn't happen to be me, would it?" Lily asked, although she was sure she knew the answer.

Cecilia nodded. "How did you know?"

Lily smiled. She was suddenly aware of what the ring and headphones did. It allowed her to hear what was going on in people's dreams, possibly their minds. "Lucky guess," she replied.

"You don't like him, do you?" Cecilia asked.

"Lily's eyes bugged out. "NO! I mean, of course I don't!" she exclaimed, horrified that Cecilia could actually make an accusation like that.

"Good," her friend said, relieved. "Now, where is everyone?"

Lily glanced at the clock above the fireplace. It was a quarter to five.

"Wow it's still really early. Why don't we go back to bed?" Lily suggested.

Cecilia agreed so they gathered all their materials and dragged themselves up the girl's dormitory stairs and into their own comfortable beds.

About two hours later, the Marauders were just waking up, ready to play a prank on the Slytherins. The four left the common room, with James holding a small box. They ventured down to the Great Hall, ready for their prank.

"James! Tell me what's in the box! Come on!" Sirius pleaded. "We're your best friends!"

James heaved a big sigh and said in an exasperated tone, "Fine! It's just a 24-karat diamond ring for Cecilia. It's worth two thousand galleons. It'd be really bad if I lost it or had it stolen.

"Oh! Well, I'd be more careful if I were you," Sirius said, then shoved James, making him drop the box near the Slytherin table. Becki Bagley, a rather _blonde _seventh year, heard their conversation, and scrambled to pick up the box that had rolled by her feet. She quickly stuffed it in her robes as the Marauders approached her.

"Hey Bagley, have you seen a small box around here? It has cockroaches in it," James said very casually.

Becki glared at him. How dare he lie to her? She knew what was really in the box. Well, at least she thought she did. "No I haven't, Potter. Now go away before I hex you," she replied just as coolly as he did.

James shrugged and walked away with his cronies. Before Becki could open the box, however, Severus Snape appeared at her side.

"What were you talking to Potter about?" he asked suspiciously, "And what's in your pocket?"

Becki, who admired Snape very much because of his extreme resentment towards the Gryffindors, was very eager to tell him what she had accomplished.

"Severus! I got a 24-karat diamond ring from Potter! I stole it from him! It's worth two thousand galleons!" Becki said excitedly. "Do you want to see it?"

"Wait a minute," Snape replied, now extremely suspicious. "What if this was a setup? Potter couldn't love that little slut so much as to spend two thousand galleons on a ring for her."

"You might be right," Becki said, "but look at Potter."

Severus turned to look at the Gryffindor table, looking for James otter. He spotted him with his hands on his face and his friends trying to comfort him. Snape thought for a few seconds, then was finally convinced that it really was a ring. "All right then. Let's open it."

They cautiously opened up the little black box, and found a ring case inside. While Severus held the box, Becki opened the case and found a big glittering diamond ring, resting in its case. They didn't notice James coming up to them, or the many cockroaches that were streaming out of the box Severus was holding. Finally, Snape felt a tingling sensation on his arm and shrieked. Becki dropped the case in surprise and looked at him to see what was the matter.

"Get them off me!" Snape roared, attracting the whole school's attention. James quickly snatched up the dropped ring and its case. Becki was scrambling to make the cockroaches disappear, but she was not succeeding. The students laughed and pointed at Snape.

"Non-perishable cockroaches!" James explained to the well-amused crowd, until a loud "SILENCE!" came from the headmaster, who had just entered the Great Hall. "Would Lily Evans and James Potter please follow me to my office? The rest of you have breakfast and classes to go to," he said as soon as the students quieted down. Lily and James walked up to the Headmaster, not expecting him to accuse them of murder.

A/N: Well, that's the end of the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!


	2. Accusations

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that JK owns.

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers…tenniStar514, Elizabeth Lyon, and POTC Freak…for your awesome reviews. This is my second chapter, so please comment, whether it's a flame, constructive criticism, or just a nice encouraging review. Thanks!

**Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 2: Accusations**

Professor Dumbledore led Lily and James to his office without a word to either of them. There they found all the professors sitting around a large oval table with three vacant seats.

"Miss Evans. Mr. Potter. Please sit down," Professor McGonagall indicated the two chairs closest to them.

"Professor! If this is about our head duties, I assure you everything is fine," Lily blurted out.

"Oh no, Miss Evans. It is not about your head duties. It is, however, about the murder of Professor Jooble," Albus Dumbledore explained. Then he introduced them to two men in their early twenties. "Lily, James, this is Mad-Eye Moody and Tim Tonks, two of the best aurors in the Ministry. Do you know why they are here?"

"Oh Albus! This is absurd! Two of my best students!" Minerva McGonagall cried.

"Minerva my dear, calm down," Professor Dumbledore soothed her. "Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, do you know why they are here?

"Have they caught the death eater, Headmaster?" James replied in confusion. This was all very puzzling to James and Lily. There were two aurors at Hogwarts, McGonagall was having an emotional breakdown, and the Headmaster was anything but happy right now.

"You are correct, Mr. Potter. They have caught the Death Eaters," Dumbledore said, emphasizing the plural of Death Eater.

"So what does that have to do with us, professor?" Lily asked, still confused.

"You see, Miss Evans, we have a wand that we found at the scene of the crime," Mad-Eye Moody said, brandishing a wand that was familiar to Lily; Cecilia's wand. "This wand's last spell was one that produced ropes to bind, or in this case, to strangle. Now do-"

"But that's Cecilia's wand!" Lily interrupted. She would never do such a thing!"

"Not Cecilia, Miss Evans. It was someone else who used her wand, someone who wanted to frame her. We matched the fingerprints on the wand. It was similar to the one of Hogwarts's students. Do you know whose they matched?"

James shook his head. "No, Mr. Moody. Whose did they match?"

It was Professor Dumbledore who answered the question. "It was Miss Evans' fingerprints."

Lily stared at Dumbledore in shock. How could he, of all people, accuse her of murder! She looked at James, but he was busy glaring at the headmaster, just as outraged at the idea as Lily was.

"Lily Evans did no such thing! It could've been used for something else! Just because there were fingerprints doesn't mean she used the spell to kill! And I was there with her the whole time!" James exclaimed, standing up so fast that he knocked over his chair. He stood there, breathing heavily, his face red and his fists clenched.

"Potter! Sit down! I can defend myself," Lily whispered, kicking James in the shins. "Professors, Pot-I mean, James has a point. We were working on our Charms project and Professor Jooble was fine. I didn't even see Cecilia's wand.

"That's the thing, Miss Evans. Mr. Potter could've been your accomplice, helping you lie, giving you an alibi," Professor Dumbledore explained. "Now, it is hard for me to believe that Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, my two best students in all of Hogwarts, have committed a serious crime, but we have enough evidence."

"Like what?" James snarled.

"Mr. Moody, I wonder myself as well. What do you have as evidence?" Dumbledore gestured to Mad-Eye Moody.

"Erm…well…actually," Moody hesitated.

"See! He doesn't have proof! It was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time," James shouted, pointing accusingly at Mad-Eye Moody.

"For your information, Mr. Potter," he started, "I do not have enough evidence that you or Miss Evans had committed the crime, but we do have proof that you two might be death eaters."

"Death Eaters!" Lily cried. She had had enough of this, "I don't know what kind of sick joke this is, but I'm leaving!" She stood up and headed to the door, with James at her heels, with the same expression of fury on his face.

The door suddenly locked with a click and all the adults stood up with their wands ready. "Don't move," Mr. Tonks growled.

"Mr. Potter, if you would come here please," Dumbledore said calmly.

James walked slowly and cautiously up to the headmaster.

"Do not worry.I highly doubt that you or Miss Evans are Death Eaters, and as long as they can't prove it, you are fine, so please calm down and give me your left arm," he ordered.

James lifted his hand limply, and Dumbledore grabbed a hold of it. He pushed James' sleeve up to reveal an imprint of a snake and skull on James' forearm. The Dark Mark.

"What!" That can't be possible!" James stared in awe at the mark on his arm. "Professor, you know I'm not a Death Eater!" The professors and aurors, however, didn't believe him.

"Miss Evans," Professor Dumbledore said, nodding at Lily. She stepped forward, confident that she would stay out of trouble. She held out her arms for Dumbledore to inspect. He pushed up her sleeves and an engraving of the Dark Mark, identical to James', was on her forearm. Lily gaped at the horrifying false truth that was right in front of her eyes.

"N-no," she stammered. "Professor, this isn't what it looks like. I didn't even know I was a Death Eater!"

"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, you are both Death Eaters, clearly by the Dark Mark that was uncovered today. We now have no choice but to take you into the Ministry for more questioning," the auror called Moody stated.

Dumbledore interrupted him. "Mr. Moody, I must ask a question. What if they have never participated in any Dark activities? Surely they cannot be charged for merely being suspected Death Eaters."

Moody squinted his eyes at the Headmaster. "Well Albus, if you insist, we'll give them a dose of Vetersarium and then discuss the results. Mr. Potter, if you please."

James stepped forward, giving Lily a fearful look. He took a seat in his old chair. He braced himself as some clear liquid was spooned into his mouth. His eyes soon drooped and his face took on a lazy expression.

"Mr. Potter, are you a Death Eater and have you been involved in any dark activity?" the auror called Tonks questioned.

"Yes, I helped the Dark Lord kill the Smiths, along with Lily Evans. Then we went on to kill Professor Jooble," James answered in a monotone.

Professor McGonagall gasped. The Smiths, were a very wealthy and prominent family in the wizarding world. They were remarkable and very well-known because they were the only prestigious half-blood family that everyone respected. Minerva McGonagall fainted upon hearing this news, and the adults turned at the thump of her limp body, allowing Lily to cast some fog into the room with her wand. James leapt out of his chair and sprinted out of the door that Lily had unlocked with her at his heels. The aurors quickly realized that their prisoners had escaped, and immediately ran after them.

Lily and James flew down the stairs and out of the gargoyle. James dug into his robe pocket and pulled out a silvery cload that he threw over his and Lily's bodies. They scurried up the Hogwarts stairs onto the seventh floor.

"Where are we going?" Lily whispered, trying hard not to step on James' feet.

"You'll see…just follow me," James replied softly. He led Lily down a corridor in front of a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. He walked past it, then turned around, and Lily past it again. They did this seven more times before James stopped abruptly and whispered to Lily.

"Concentrate on needing a place to hide. Think hard about it," he commanded. She nodded, and they walked past it for the tenth time. This time, a humongous polished door had appeared in the wall. James reached out and pulled on the brass handle. The door swung open heavily, revealing a large room lit with torches.

The cloak fell off Lily and she looked around. The room was one she had never seen before. It was a large circular room with a divider in the middle and squishy gold sleeping bags on either side. At one end of the room, there was a doorway leading to one other room. Lily went to look around the other room while James was untangling himself from the invisibility cloak. Lily observed the second room, which some tables covered in food and on a small vanity table, there lay three small square mirrors. Lily realized what kind of room they had entered and went back to find James.

"Potter! How did you find this room?" Lily exclaimed. "I've heard about this room…it's the Room of Requirement!"

"Yeah we found this room in our fifth year," James said proudly, referring to the Marauders. "I think we're the only ones who know about this room. Now, let's see where they are."

James reached into his robe pockets and seemed to be looking for something. His face took on a confused expression then realization shone.

"Padfoot has the map," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Potter stop talking to yourself. We need to figure out how you lied under the Vetersarium and what to do next," Lily snapped at him. She had stopped panicking and turned back to her normal self and blaming James for everything.

"Ok, ok. So since this is the Room of Requirement, we must need all of these," James started slowly, observing all the objects they could use. "So I guess we're going to stay here for the night, considering we have the sleeping bags and the food. The only thing that's confusing me now are the mirrors.

Lily picked up the small shiny objects and handed James one of them. "I know what these are. I thought they stopped making them ten years ago! These are really rare, worth over one thousand galleons!"

"Just tell me what it does already!" James exclaimed, exasperated.

Lily glared at him. She continued stiffly, "You do this. James."

"What?" James looked down. He looked into the mirror and jumped back. Lily's face peered up at him. "That's bloody amazing!"

"Ok since there are three mirrors, we should each get one and we have one left over. I think we should give it to someone so we can find out what people are saying and what's happening," Lily stated a matter-of-factly. "I think we should give it to Kandi."

"No! Let's give it to Sirius!" James protested. "Why do we have to give it to one of _your_ friends?"

"_Because_ Potter, my friends are more reliable than yours," Lily snapped.

"But you friends don't know where this room is," James said triumphantly. He knew he had won the argument. Lily narrowed her eyes at him, and reluctantly handed over the mirror.

"Fine. Black better be one hell of a loyal friend, or else," she left the sentence hanging at that.

"So what do we do now?" James asked.

Lily replied with a simple, "We wait."

James passed the time by sitting on his sleeping bag and fidgeting. Lily was tired out from all the excitement and took a short nap. Five hours later, James shook Lily awake to eat their lunch.

"I just thought of something," Lily spoke up before beginning her meal. "How exactly are we giving it to Black? He might know where the room is, but does he know we're in here? It could be days before he comes."

James grinned mischievously. "That, Evans, is for me to know and for you to never find out. Just watch, he'll probably come around during dinnertime."

"I can't believe I'm actually trusting you," Lily grumbled.

"Have I ever let you down?" James teased.

Lily frowned. "Yes. For the many projects we've been unwillingly paired up for."

"Hmm…you're right," James tone turned serious. "Then I would get detentions because you were a teacher's pet, even though sometimes it wasn't even my fault."

"I guess we've just been enemies for so long. It's just a habit," Lily's voice softened.

James was feeling uncomfortable now. Awkward moments just didn't work for him. "I wonder…what…started it all?" he struggled to get the words out.

The red haired teen closed her eyes and thought for a moment, trying to remember. "I fancied you in third year. At that time, I apparently wasn't good enough to you. I sent you a card on Valentine's Day, and you and your stupid little friends laughed at me. Snape got a hold of the card and tore it into pieces right in front of my eyes. I cried that night, and no matter how hard my friends tried to cheer me up, I was heartbroken."

Lily paused for a moment, letting the childhood memory sink in. James nodded numbly; also remember that fateful day four years ago.

Lily continued with her story. "After awhile, I started hating you for embarrassing me, so I wanted to get back at you. That summer, I ordered tons of magazines that gave people beauty tips, went on a diet, and exercised until every muscle in my body ached. I came back to Hogwarts with a totally new look, hoping to make you feel bad for making fun of me. I guess my hard work really paid off."

A smile crept onto James' face. "So why wouldn't you agree to go out with me?"

Lily's face took on a look of annoyance. "Because all you cared about were looks. You never thought I was smart, or caring, or a loyal friend, or nice. You just wanted to go out with me because I had changed the way I was on the outside."

James gaped at her and protested, "What! Me? Just care about looks? Lily-"

She cut him off. "Don't calle me Lily!"

"Evans-I did notice your change. I mean, you made friends with Cecilia. You became patient…with Cecilia," James claimed. He couldn't think of anything better to say without making Lily's comment sound true.

"Is that the best you can do?" Lily cried. She had still liked him a tiny bit over the past few years, but now she was just mad. He was still the arrogant toe-rag he had been ever since she met him. "I can't believe you! You pompous old bat!"

"Lily, I'm sorry," James tried to apologize.

"Shut up Potter. Just leave me alone!" Lily cried.

James didn't protest and slumped into a chair that had just appeared. "If that's what you really want," he said sadly.

That caught Lily off guard. "What?"

James repeated what he said, "If that's what you really want."

"Oh. Ok," Lily replied. There was an awkward silence. Suddenly, a door appeared and it swung open to reveal Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.

"Prongsie, old chap, what brought you and the lovely lady to the Room of Requirement?" Sirius inquired in his humorous tone.

"Bad news. Dumbledore thinks we killed Jooble and that we're Death Eaters. He also thinks we murdered the Smiths," said James, referring to Lily and himself.

Remus and Sirius gaped at him with wide eyes. "But they can't prove it, can they?" Remus asked, afraid of the answer.

"'Fraid they already did," was James' reply.

The two friends looked at Lily, who had been watching them silently, for an explanation.

Lily rolled up the sleeve of her left arm to reveal the Dark Mark that had been uncovered earlier. She waited for Remus and Sirius to take in what they had seen. "The thing is, it's on James too, but we don't know how it got there. Obviously, we're not Death Eaters."

Remus stepped forward to examine the mark. He took out a bottle from his robes and dabbed some milky liquid onto the mark. Lily gasped, not because it hurt, but because the mark was disappearing. James leapt up and watched the terrible mark dissolve then completely disappear.

"So it was like in or something?" James exclaimed.

Remus scratched his chin, thinking. "Not ink. Ink wouldn't dissolve like that with Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover. It would have just disappeared. It's sort of like a Muggle invention. A tattoo. It seemed like a magic version of it, though," he explained.

"Ok, so how do you explain the Vetersarium? They gave it to James, and he lied under it," Lily said.

Remus looked around the room, and he spotted a newspaper. Grabbing it and looking at the title, he said, "_Wizard Times_. This newspaper was banned five years ago. IT was an expensive one to get, at 10 galleons per issue. Only the richest, and the darkest wizarding families got it, because it contained very secret and dangerous information."

He flipped through the paper as everyone crowded around him. "Hmm…yes, and article on Vetersarium. It says that they found a new form of it. _A new Vetersarium has been found, due to the many attempts to fool it. There is, however, one way to fool the old Vetersarium. This way is only known to Death Eaters, however, and we suspect that it requires much Dark Magic that only You-Know-Who and his servants possess. The new Vetersarium, now called Veritaserum, makes sure that there is no way to lie under it, even with the most powerful magic._ Hmm…I guess that's how you lied under the Vetersarium. I mean, you aren't really a Death Eater, are you? Or Lily?"

Lily snorted at the thought. "Yeah, maybe when Peter Pettigrew can actually make a potion that renews a human being."

James looked around. "Where is Wormtail anyway?" he asked.

Sirius glanced at Remus. "He said he went to visit his injured mum. Said she'd hurt herself with a spell that backfired. Funny, it seemed like he was the one who was hurt, clutching his arm like that. Seemed like he was on fire."

A frown gradually grew on James' face. "He said that last time too. His mum must be a really busy person."

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. Guess she is. Anyway, what are you going to about the Death Eater problem?"

James looked uneasily at Lily. "Er…well, since the Dark Mark came off my skin, then it probably will come off Lily's skin. If Dumbledore sees that the Dark Mark is gone, we can prove that we're innocent," James said.

Lily, however, disagreed. "But they questioned you under Vetersarium. They could think that we covered the Mark. They know _Wizard Times_ was banned. Dumbledore knows it's a bad newspaper. He'd never believe it."

"How did they make you lie under the Vetersarium anyway?" Remus scratched his chin absently.

Lily thought about it for a second, wondering herself why James had lied with that story. "I guess…they must've added the Imperius Curse…" she paused, thinking, "to this Dark Magic they used to fool the Vetersarium. It must combine to make a really power spell. Magic that only You-Know-Who must possess.

"Yes. You're right. That's the only answer," Remus agreed. "So what are you going to do now?"

James glanced at the sleeping bags. He shrugged and said, "I guess we're meant to kip out here. Obviously, we can't go back to our dormitories."

Lily nodded. "Just until we figure something out."

Nearby, they heard the dinner bell ring. "Oops. Guess we better go," Sirius said. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Wait," James stopped them. "Take this." He handed Sirius one of the square mirrors.

"Just say my name into the mirror and we can talk to each other. Make sure that no one sees you, though, we can't risk anything," James warned his friends.

"We'll keep you updated James," Remus assured him.

"See you later, mate," Sirius bid farewell and stepped out of the room with Remus right behind him.

The door swung shut with a thud, leaving Lily and James by themselves again.

"Well, I guess we know the truth. Now we need to prove to Dumbledore we're not guilty," Lily sighed. She had expected her last year at Hogwarts to be the best year, full of studying and memories with her friends. Now she was stuck in a huge dilemma that could get her shipped off to Azkaban, the wizard prison full of dementors and other miscreants.

"Why can't we show him the article?" James insisted.

"I told you. _Wizard Times_ is a dark newspaper. Dark wizards write and read it," Lily explained again, patiently.

"But wouldn't Dumbledore want to know what's happening with the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who?" James asked, still confused.

Lily looked around for the article, but it was nowhere to be found. "Well, for one thing, our evidence has disappeared. Plus, do you think Dumbledore would walk around the school holding it? There are spies here at Hogwarts. Our potions professor's probably a Death Eater. Besides, Veritaserum doesn't exactly exist yet. It's still being developed. There's no way to prove that you can fool Vetersarium. The only other way is to find proof who did this to us, and that's almost impossible without getting caught."

James could not deny that she was right. He walked to the other room without another word and began to eat the food that had just appeared. Lily joined him several moments later, and they dined in silence.

"Well, I guess we'd better get some rest. We can figure out what to do tomorrow morning," James said warily. Lily agreed silently and they each chose a sleeping bag. Lily stripped down to her undergarments (A/N: Don't forget, there's a divider thing) and crept into her sleeping bag. She fell asleep very quickly, and James, who just slumped on top of his own sleeping bag fully clothes, could hear her snoring softly. He couldn't sleep, mostly because that one afternoon had turned his life upside down. Usually, he would've wanted to be caught in the middle of a murder mystery, but he never even dreamed of being the prime suspect. Soon, his thoughts gave out, his eyes closed, and James Potter fell into a slumber, not wanting to know what was going to happen to him.

A/N: Well, this is the end of my second chapter. I hope you like it, and that you review. I'll try to update as soon as I can.


	3. The Almost Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or his magical world...even though it'd be totally awesome if I did. Does anyone actually read the disclaimer anyway?

A/N: A bajillion thanks to tenniStar514, POTC Freak, Kinz, and hi for your AWESOME reviews! I'm so glad some people appreciate my fic. Anyway, here's the third chapter. Enjoy! (And review!)

**Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 3: The Almost Kiss**

_Drip. Drip. Drip._ Lily woke to the sound of water droplets. She put on her clothes and peeked around the divider to the other side, wondering what on earth James was doing. She found Sirius and Remus standing over James' snoring body. Water was dripping from the tip of Sirius' wand. Every time a water droplet protruded form the tip of the wanted, it would make a noisy splashing sound. The front of his robes contained a big dark splotch. His two friends moved the wand closer to his face. The drops of water now splashed into James' mouth. He snored loudly, causing the water to fly down his windpipe. James sat up and started coughing, drenched with water dribbling out of his mouth.

"Five minutes and twenty three seconds," Remus said, reading off of the hourglass he held in his hand. "Ten more seconds than least time."

"Yes!" Sirius shouted, and gave Remus a high five.

"I don't have any other clothes!" James protested.

His friends shrugged. "This is the Room of Requirement," Sirius stated, and he was right. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, new clothes were spotted on a nearby chair.

James glared at Sirius and Remus, but he looked relieved. He was just about to start changing when he noticed Lily standing there. He cleared his throat, and Lily jumped, startled. She blushed and stepped behind the divider. Sirius and Remus joined her, not wanting to witness a naked James.

When it was safe again, Remus and Sirius came out only to hear the bell ring, causing Sirius to jump.

"I knew I shouldn't have had those bell cakes for breakfast," he groaned, disgusted with himself.

"Paddy, old chap, I think it was the bell," James chuckled. "Bell cakes?"

"Yeah. The elves made them 'specially for me so that I could hear bells every time I bounced up and down," Sirius said innocently.

"And why he wanted to do that in the first place, I don't know," Remus sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, you two better go," James told them reluctantly.

"All right. Come on Moony, you heard the man. He wants us out." Sirius pushed Remus towards the door. "Lucky we have Binns next. We'll talk to you then through the mirrors."

"Wait!" Lily, who had still been on the other side of the divider the whole time, rushed forward with a letter clutched in her hand. "Give this to Kandi, will you?"

Remus took the letter and said gently, "Of course."

The two left without another word. About five minutes later, Sirius' face appeared on James' mirror.

"Jamesie! How're you holding up in there?" Sirius' chirpy voice rang throughout the room. "Binns is sleeping so we can do anything we want."

"Tell Lily that Kandi got the letter. That's the only reason we're risking getting in trouble," Remus hissed to Sirius.

"Oh right. Tell Lily that Kandi got her letter," Sirius repeated. "Oh wait. I think she's coming over here to try to talk to Lily."

As soon as he said that, Lily, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, came over and snatched the mirror from James' hands.

"Kandi!" Lily cried into the mirror.

"Lily!" Kandi's worried face filled the mirror. "Lily! We've been so worried about you! What happened? There are some rumors going around that you and James are terribly sick. We tried to visit you in the Hospital Wing, but they wouldn't let any of us come in. No one's seen you since yesterday morning!"

"Kandi, the weirdest thing happened. Try to get Sirius or Remus to bring you here," Lily said vaguely, trying to keep her voice down. "Hurry though."

"Ok. Misty and I will come with Sirius and Remus right before lunch," Kandi promised. Her eyes wandered up for a moment, then came back down with panic. "Oh no! I have to go, Lily. Binns is waking up. I'll see you later."

"Bye Kandi." Kandi's face disappeared and Lily tossed the mirror back to James.

After what seemed like hours, the big brass door that allowed people into the Room of Requirement appeared, and it swung open to reveal Sirius, Remus, Peter, Kandi, and Misty.

"Lily!" The two girls cried simultaneously. They ran to embrace her in a tight sisterly hug.

"So what's the real deal here? Why are you hiding in here?" Misty asked.

Lily explained to her two friends what had happened the past couple days, with the help of James interrupting every couple words. After she had finished her story, her friends gaped at her. Sirius and Remus remained very blasé, as they had already heard the story.

"So are you just going to hide in here the whole time?" Kandi asked.

"Just until we figure out who framed us," Lily assured her dark-haired friend.

A loud grumble escaped Sirius' stomach and caught everyone's attention. "Oops," he apologized with a sheepish grin. "Guess I'm getting sort of hungry here." Peter laughed, or rather, giggled furiously, and the lot turned to look strangely at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I thought I was supposed to laugh."

"Well, that's our cue to leave," Remus said brightly, excusing Peter's strange interruption. "Bye James. Bye Lily."

"Bye Lily," Kandi and Misty said tearfully. "Bye James."

Lily and James' friends left, and not five minutes later, Remus and Sirius came barging back in, very out of breath.

"James! Lily! You won't guess who we just saw," Remus said, panting.

"Or who just saw us," Sirius added.

"Who?" they demanded, confused.

"Cecilia and Damian-," Remus started.

"Together," Sirius interrupted.

"And they saw us coming from the corridor," Remus continued, shooting a glare at Sirius.

"Damian's that one chap from Slytherin. He's the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team," Sirius piped up.

"Damian Rockwood?" asked James, shocked. "We're they…well, you know…going together?"

"The point IS that they saw us, and we just barely brushed them off," Remus pointed out.

"Not sure. She's still head over heels for you mate. She can't be with him," Sirius said. "Oh, and they saw us, so you two better find a new hiding place."

Remus smacked himself and his two friends turned and looked at him strangely.

"Well, there's no time to chatter. Damian Rockwood is a Slytherin, and that is never a good thing," Lily cut in. "We have to find somewhere else to hide."

"Well, there's always Hogsmeade," Sirius suggested.

Lily shook her head. "Too many people on the weekends."

"Forbidden Forest?" James proposed.

"Way too dangerous," Remus said. "How about the kitchens? It's really big, so there are a lot of hiding places, and you have an unlimited supply of food. Teachers never go in there either, they usually ring for house-elves."

"Good thinking Remus," Lily said admiringly. James felt a stab of jealousy.

"I could've thought of that," he grunted.

"So how are you going to get there?" asked Sirius.

"My invisibility cloak, of course-" he stopped suddenly. "Oh no! It's upstairs!"

"Well we don't have any time to get it. Damian's probably going to come soon," Lily said hurriedly. "I'll just disillusion us."

She took out her wand and tapped the top of James' head, muttering some words. She then tapped her own head and a cool tingling sensation spread out from her head to her fingertips and toes. Lily looked down, and sure enough, she saw nothing but a pile of cushions near where her feet would've been.

"James? Lily? Where are you? Can you come by me?" Sirius waved his arms around, then realized that he looked very foolish and stopped. "Right. So just follow me and Remmy here will be right behind us."

James and Lily both stepped towards Sirius and each jumped back, clutching their heads.

"Ok maybe we should hold hands so we don't crash into each other while we're walking," James suggested. They walked towards each other and found the other's hand.

"Ok we're ready."

"Aye, captain," Sirius saluted and grasped the big silver handle. He pushed, and the door opened silently. "Oiled right before coming in," he stated proudly.

Sirius crept out, and then Lily and James stepped over with Remus far behind them. Remus took cautious steps, afraid that he would accidentally bump into Lily or James.

They walked in silence down the stairs. Lily suddenly noticed how big and calloused James' hand felt. _Probably from quidditch,_ she thought. For the first time since hiding, she felt protected and safe, just from holding his hand. She held on tighter, not wanting to let go. Her slim hand fit perfectly with his big one, their fingers laced through each other's.

"Are you ok?" Lily heard James whisper. She realized that he had noticed the grip change.

"Yes, I'm fine," Lily replied. She loosened her hand and blushed, glad that no one could see her.

"Be quiet you two. We're almost there. I think someone's coming," Remus hushed them.

Footsteps echoed the hall from around the corner. The four seventh years stopped suddenly. James and Lily froze, not daring to even breath. They filly relaxed when Cecilia's form came out of the shadows…followed by Damian Rockwood. Lily felt James stiffen.

"Lupin. Black," Damian acknowledged. Cecilia nodded, then her face took on a strange expression.

"Why are you two standing like that?" she asked, taking a step closer. Remus and Sirius darted toward each other, standing side by side right in front of Cecilia.

"No reason," Remus said lightly. He put his hands behind his back, signaling to James and Lily.

"Cecilia, come on. Just forget about them. Let's go get a butterbeer," Damian's silky voice whispered loudly in Cecilia's ear as he sneaked his arm around her waist.

Cecilia squirmed out of his embrace, a little annoyed. "Damian, you go on. I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks."

The Slytherin stood there for a moment. "Ok," he said simply, casting suspicious eyes over the three of them. He left and headed down the stairs, robes billowing out behind him.

James glared at Damian's back. If looks could kill, Damian would've died ten times right on the spot. He stared long and hard until the Slytherin was out of sight. James then turned his attention to Cecilia.

"So. Damian's your new boyfriend," Sirius said that as a statement, not a question. "I wonder what James would say."

"James won't say anything because James doesn't know. Dumbledore thinks he and Lily are Death Eaters. How can I still go out with him?" Cecilia hissed, narrowing her eyes.

James felt his blood go cold. He wanted to cry out to her and tell her that he was innocent. Then he felt angry. Why would she think he was really a Death Eater? How could she go out with Damian? _Of course, she didn't know we found proof. She probably felt betrayed, so she was seduced by Damian unwillingly; when she wasn't thinking right,_ James thought to himself. He smiled. _That's it._

"Cecilia!" James cried. He felt Lily's hand clamp over his mouth. James struggled for a bit, then fell quiet.

"Is there something wrong with your voice?" Cecilia asked suspiciously. Remus had opened his mouth as a quick reaction to James' exclamation.

"Oh no. You know, sometimes my voice just changes randomly," Remus squeaked to prove his point. Then he switched his tone to make it low. "I guess it's puberty, you know?"

Remus turned a bright shade of red while Sirius stifled a laugh. Cecilia gave them a rather disgusted look. "I could've sworn I heard James' voice. Well if you insist it's…_puberty_…then I suppose I must leave. We'll talk later," she said at last. "Oh, and if you do happen to see James, tell him that I love him, even if he is a Death Eater."

Cecilia spun on her heel and walked away in the same direction that Damian had gone, her heels clicking on the marble floor. James watched her leave, and empty feeling in his stomach. He felt betrayed. He felt like a fool. He finally engaged in a serious relationship, and he was rejected; pushed aside after so much love. He stood there, until he finally felt Lily tug on his hand. James stumbled forward, regained his balance, and followed Sirius and Remus down the rest of the stairs, still holding Lily's hand. They went through a door by the entrance into a brightly lit corridor. When they reached a painting of a bowl of fruit, Sirius reached dup, tickled the pear, and the pear turned into a handle. He grasped the handle and pulled it down. The portrait swung open and a bright light blinded the four of them. The kitchen was a large room, bigger than the Great Hall, with pots simmering and pans sizzling. Stoves, ovens, sinks, and more covered the pastel walls. Stools littered the floor, so that the house-elves could reach high places. The pieces of floor shone with cleanness. Long tables held spices of all kinds-sage, rosemary, cinnamon, thyme, paprika, and hundreds of others. House-elves scurried about, most of them preparing that evening's dinner.

"Blueberry! Some service here," Sirius called out. Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' wonderful manners.

"Masters Padfoot and Moony! Blueberry is glad Masters are back to visit poor Blueberry who is with baby elf," a small elf said, patting her bulging stomach. A blue terrycloth was draped around her shoulders with a gold strip of fabric around her waist, making her look like, indeed, a blueberry. "Blueberry must wonder, where is Masters Prongs and Wormtail?"

"First, could you have Jaggle set up a table for a lady and her lover?" Sirius requested, smiling because he could picture the looks on James and Lily's faces. "Then could Jaggle and another elf…maybe Strawberry…find a room for two people?"

Blueberry's eyes grew bigger, and her smile turned into a pout. "Does Masters not like Blueberry anymore?" she asked tearfully.

Remus was taken aback. "No! Of c-course not, Blueberry!" Remus stammered. "You need to rest. Your baby's coming soon. We want you to be completely healthy so you can help us after you have your child."

His words calmed Blueberry. She smiled again and scampered away to find her elf husband and her elf sister. Less than a minute later, she came back with two more house-elves with eager eyes. The first one was a bit taller, only about half an inch, and seemed to be a male elf. He had a white cloth wrapped around his waist held by a gold strip of fabric, identical to Blueberry's. The gold "belt" symbolized marriage between two elves, just like wedding rings symbolized marriage between two humans. The second elf looked a bit like Blueberry; except she had a red terrycloth draped around her shoulders and she did not bear a strip of gold.

"How can Jaggle and Strawberry serve Masters?" Strawberry piped up. Sirius repeated his instructions and the two house-elves ran off to complete their tasks. Blueberry stayed by Remus and Sirius' side.

"Prongs, Lily, you can disillusion yourselves now," Remus muttered under his breath. As soon as he said those words, Lily appeared, as if out of thin air, followed by James. All the elves in the kitchen had stopped working and gasps were heard, followed by clapping and giggling.

"Sir? Jaggle wish you to know that your table is ready," the tall elf tugged at James' robe. He led the two to a faraway corner in the shadows of the kitchen, where a small table was set up with piles of food: mounds of mashed potatoes and heaps of hamburgers. Lily and James sat down on opposite ends of the table and began to dig into the food.

"Sir? Master Prongs?" James felt a tug at his robe. He looked down to find Blueberry standing there.

"Yes Blueberry?" He said, mouth full of food.

"Blueberry wish sir to know that Blueberry wants to greet sir," she said. Her voice seemed a little quivery, but James disregarded it, thinking that she was just happy to see him.

"That's very kind of you Blueberry," James said kindly. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest? Your baby's due in about a week."

"Yes sir. Blueberry is leaving now." The small elf took a step away from the table, and collapsed to the ground.

"Blueberry!" Both Lily and James cried out at the same time. They rushed to the small elf's side and leaned in. Lily suddenly found her face an inch away from James, and he noticed at the same time. They both looked up, and into each other's eyes. James' warm brown eyes held Lily's soft gaze, and they both leaned in. The world seemed to stop for both of them. Lily's heart was beating 100 times a second, and her mind seemed miles away. James could smell Lily's minty breath and her rose scented hair. They both froze for a second, excited, yet anxious about what would happen next. Their mouths were just a hair away, when all of a sudden, Lily pulled back.

"We should probably get her to the other house-elves," she said, averting her eyes to Blueberry, who had just opened her own little elfin eyes.

"Yeah. Blueberry, are you okay?" James asked, truly concerned for his furry little friend. The elf nodded and the two of them helped her up. On the way to the main part of the kitchen, both Lily Evans and James Potter were thinking the same thing: _We almost kissed._

A/N: Well, the end of chapter 3, FINALLY! So, I hope you've enjoyed it, and I hope that you review!


	4. Birth of Elves and the Death of an Elf

Disclaimer: Never have and never will own JKR's stuff. Oh well.

A/N: Muchas gracias to tenniStar514 and POTC Freak for their AWESOME reviews! Wow. Only two reviews for this chapter. That's pretty sad. And 8 out of 9 total reviews are from my friends. That's really sad. It's too sad. Well, I guess if no one really likes this fic, I might as well drop it and go back to the drawing board. Ok well, I hope you enjoy this chapter and review!

**Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 4: Birth of Elves and the Death of an Elf**

Several elves rushed to James and Lily as they came into view from the dark corner they were standing in just seconds ago. James helped Blueberry to her feet and she was rushed away by some of the elves. The ones left over inquired if James and Lily wanted anything else.

"Sir? Strawberry wishes sir to know that sir's room is ready," James heard a tiny voice. He looked down and saw Blueberry's sister looking up at him with her big green eyes.

"Oh, right. Let's go, Lily," he said simply and followed the small elf. They walked over to a refrigerator that was standing next to a counter. The elf stood there, as if she were thinking. James looked confusedly at Lily, but she just shrugged her shoulders. All of a sudden, Strawberry snapped her long elfish fingers, said something in a different language, and the refrigerator started moving. It shifted over to the right, and a door appeared in its place. Strawberry stepped forward to open the door, and beckoned Lily and James to follow her.

They traveled down a long, winding tunnel that was wide enough, but not tall enough for the two teenagers to walk through without ducking every few feet. They walked for about five minutes, and came to a halt in front of a door with a lock the size of James' head. Strawberry took her finger and stuck it inside the lock while James raised an eyebrow at Lily, as if to say _is she okay?_ After a few seconds, the lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal a cozy little room, all set with two beds, a water basin, and a bookshelf full of magical games, educational books, feather quills, and many pieces of parchment.

"Here is master and miss's room. Blueberry request that learning is important so Strawberry is teach tomorrow. Push button if need Strawberry," the elf said politely. She bowed and scurried out.

"Oh good. At least we'll still be caught up with our work," Lily said happily. James groaned at her joy of doing homework.

"Is that all you can think about?" he asked irritably. "What about the fact that we're accused Death Eaters? Is homework more important than that?"

Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "It might not be more important, but it's still important. I mean, what if we come face to face with You-Know-Who?" she said testily.

"Right. Out of all the people we could meet, we would meet Voldemort himself," James laughed as Lily cringed at the name. "In the flesh. What a joke!"

"Don't say his name!" Lily shouted angrily.

"Voldemort. Voldemort. VOLDEMORT!" James bellowed into Lily's ear, smiling at the dismal expression on her face.

Lily just looked at him like he was crazy and backed away. She collapsed on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. "What if they find us here? What if they send us to Azkaban?" she asked softly.

"Don't worry Lily. They won't," James tried to reassure her, but with a hint of hesitance in his voice. "And if they do, we'll figure something out."

"I hope so," Lily replied, still uncertain.

"Lily? Wake up. It's time to eat," James whispered in a sleeping Lily's ear.

"Mmm. I love you too," Lily muttered, obviously still dreaming. James grinned, thinking that she was talking to him.

"Why, the lovely Lily actually likes me. Let's see what you can do," he purred, getting onto the bed. He placed his body down next to Lily's and leaned in close to her face. Lily's eyes flew open, and she jumped out of her bed, knocking James off with her. They crashed to the floor, tangled up in each other. Lily finally untangled herself and leapt up towards the wall opposite of where James was.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter?" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, eyes glaring forebodingly at a cowering James. "There I was, having a wonderful dream, and I wake up to find you a centimeter away from me! How can you take advantage of me like that!"

"I-I thought y-you were awake!" James stuttered, regretting the decision he had made, and cursing silently at his horrible hearing senses. "You said that you loved me."

"I was saying that in my dream, you idiot!" she shouted at him, now advancing slowly, more menacing than ever. "Even so, how could you just assume that I wanted to do something with you just by those three words?"

"Well, it's usually how I express my love," James smirked, trying to restore peace and joke around with her at the same time.

"Don't you DARE try to be funny, James Potter. Just leave me alone," Lily barked at James, whose expression slowly faltered.

"Listen Lily. I'm sorry. I wasn't going to actually go that far. I just wanted to have a bit of fun. You know, get rid of some of the stress that we've been dealing with these past few days," said James, completely sincere. "I respect your privacy, and I'm so sorry that I invaded it."

Lily stopped and unclenched her fists. She could feel indents of where her nails had dug into her skin. James held her gaze for a second, and she was almost completely convinced that he was truly sorry. It would still, however, take awhile before she could trust him again. "Apology accepted, for the time being," she said stiffly.

James relaxed, glad that he had said that right thing, but even gladder that she was giving him another chance to prove himself worthy of her. The two of them stood there without another word for a moment. Then they both jumped as a loud knock shattered the invisible silence. Lily quickly regained her senses, and rushed to answer the knock, hoping that it was Strawberry. She put her ear to the wooden door and waited.

"Master? Mistress? 'Tis Strawberry here with dinner of mashed potatoes, beets, steaks, and a magnificent strawberry cheesecake that Strawberry made herself," a squeaky voice rang through. Lily opened the door and accepted the two trays of food.

"Thank you, Strawberry. Your service is much appreciated," Lily said kindly to the small elf whose face was shining with pleasure.

"Anything for mistress and master," she said delightedly and left before Lily could pay her or give her a hug.

"Did you order all this food?" Lily asked James, a little coldly. She set his tray down without waiting for an answer and proceeded to eat her own food on the floor farthest away from James.

James knew that she wasn't expecting an answer, but he replied anyway. "Yeah. I knew those were your favorite foods, so I ordered because I didn't want to wake you up. Then Strawberry said that she was going to come down to bring dinner, so I woke you up. I didn't want your food to get cold," he explained, trying not to bring up the way he had chosen to wake her up.

Lily remained silent. It sounded true enough, and entirely unlike the James Potter she knew. Maybe she underestimated him. Maybe behind all the pompousness and prankster was a thoughtful gentleman. Maybe he was someone who thought about others before himself. But then again, those two personalities clashed, and it was highly unlikely that James was like that. Then she thought of their almost kiss, and how it seemed so long ago that James was gazing into her eyes, and how they could feel each other's heavy breaths. But she had pulled back, terrified of falling in love with him just to get her heart broken again.

Lily had been eating her food without actually realizing that she was eating it, and soon enough, her plate was empty. James finished his last bite at about the same time, and offered to bring the plates back up. He waved his hands in front of Lily's face, and when she looked up, he held out his hand. Lily, realizing what he was doing, shoved a plate in his face and looked away. James walked towards the door, head down and plates in hand. Fortunately for him, Lily noticed and started to feel bad. She could at least try talking normally to him.

"Wait, I'm coming too," Lily finally said, to James' delight. Then he frowned again when she added, "Only because I want to help the elves with the dishes."

James nodded to show that he understood. He was pretty sure that she was trying really hard to give him another chance, even though he didn't deserve one. "You know, it's ten o'clock at night," he said with a small smile that quickly vanished as Lily glared at him. The thought exited out of his head.

They walked along the narrow and dimly lit passageway back to the refrigerator/door. James pushed on it a little, and it budged just enough for their fit frames to scuttle through. After appearing out from behind the refrigerator, they looked around in confusion. Where were all the elves? Surely they didn't all sleep at the same time. There must be some elves on night duty. James walked a little bit further, and heard some whispering from behind a counter. He beckoned for Lily to follow, and they both crept around the counter to find five or six elves crowded around another elf lying on a blanket on the floor.

"Blueberry?" Lily whispered loudly enough so that the elves would hear.

"Yes miss. Blueberry is gone into labor. Elf labor," one of the elves turned around and told Lily. "Baby is coming out. Two babies is coming out. Miss must be quiet or else they will take away baby."

Lily crawled over to Jaggle and Strawberry, who were right by Blueberry's side. She looked down into Blueberry's wide, fearful eyes. "Wow, twins. Are you feeling okay, Blueberry?" she asked.

Blueberry nodded as a reply, but didn't have enough strength to speak. Her eyes cast down and her breathing quickened. Jaggle gripped her small hand even harder, and closed his eyes, as if he were praying. Big, fat tears rolled out of Strawberry's eyes as she held Blueberry's other hand.

"Don't cry, Strawberry. She's just going into labor. She'll live, I promise," Lily said soothingly, patting Strawberry's back.

"Miss does not understand. I have never knew an elf who is to have two babies. Doctor and midwife have never born two babies from one elf mother. We elves do not know if Blueberry survive or die. Head doctor and midwife say she die," Strawberry said in a quivering voice.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Lily murmured sincerely, now understanding why the elves were all crying or near tears. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Miss, no human can help. Humans do not know about elves," the elf standing by Blueberry's legs, presumably the head doctor, protested gruffly. He was standing by another elf, who was apparently the midwife. She was muttering in a different language, looking down to check on the birth every couple seconds.

"Just hold her hand, miss. Blueberry need comfort."

Lily grasped the small elf's scrawny fingers while soothing her. Soon, James came over and held his hands over Lily's and Blueberry's.

"Elves, the first baby is coming out. I need a basin full of clean water and soft blankets," the head doctor ordered suddenly. "Midwife says to push!"

Lily could hear Blueberry's breaths quicken and become more intense. Blueberry closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Lily felt her squeeze her hand even harder, but was too worried to even feel the pain. "Keep pushing Blueberry, just keep pushing. You'll be okay," Lily assured her in a calming voice. After several heaves from the pregnant elf, Lily glanced over at the midwife, who was holding something between Blueberry's legs. She soon saw a pair of pointy ears come into view.

James also saw the small, rumpled ears and said to Lily, "Go help with the baby. I'll be here to comfort Blueberry."

Lily went without a word and held her arms out as the baby came out of the mother's body. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, and several elves rushed forward to take the sticky baby in their arms. They made sure it was breathing and healthy before handing it to Lily to clean. She gently placed it into the basin, and took the washcloth to wipe the blood from the soft and wrinkly brown skin. After it was completely free of dried blood, Lily wrapped it in a towel, dried the elf, and wrapped it in a bundle of blankets. By that time, the other baby elf had gotten its umbilical cord cut and checked. Lily went through the same process of cleaning and handed the two bundles of blankets to Blueberry, who looked very weak and exhausted.

"What are you going to name them?" Lily asked gently, smiling at the new mother. "They're a boy and a girl."

Blueberry managed to return a smile at Lily and James. "Miss and Master name babies."

"Oh! Well, I think the girl should be called Winky," Lily suggested happily.

James stopped to think for a second. "Dobby," he finally said. "I like the name Dobby." Lily giggled silently at the thought of James Potter spending so much time thinking about a name for a baby. Most boys weren't usually like that.

"Blueberry like Winky and Dobby too," Blueberry said weakly. She turned to Strawberry, who was watching. "Strawberry be godmother."

Strawberry squealed and gave her sister a hug. Blueberry's eyes widened for a second, then returned to normal size. After Strawberry had let go, she smiled one last time. Her eyelids drooped, and her heavy breathing suddenly quieted down. Lily watched in horror as her chest rose once, fell once, and became still, with Winky and Dobby still cradled in her arms.

"What…just happened?" James whispered, afraid of the answer. Tears pooled up in his eyes as the elves all turned to look at him.

"I…th-think she's…dead," Lily replied in her own small voice. "She died…from childbirth…"

"Blueberry…" Jaggle said tearfully, still holding her hand. Strawberry went over to put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "No…"

"Yes. She is gone. Proper bury tomorrow. All elves meet by sink three at midnight," the doctor said in an unemotional tone. He glanced disdainfully at James, who now had tears streaming in rivulets down his face. Lily noticed, and went to his side.

"Come on James. Let's get you to bed," Lily whispered into his ear while lifting him off the ground. She put his arm over her shoulder so that she could help him walk back to their hidden bedroom. When they got there, she gently put him down on his bed. Then she laid down on her own bed without changing into pajamas. The lights went off automatically. She laid there, facing the ceiling. After a few minutes, sniffles were heard from the other side of the room, where James' bed was.

"Are you ok, James?" Lily called out. There was no answer. She slowly got up, and went over to his bed. The lights didn't turn on. She crept into his bed, tenderly pushing him over to the side a little. Lily cradled James' head and murmured in his ear, "She's in heaven now, James. It's ok."

Deep in the forests of Albania, a tall mansion stood invisible to the Muggle eye and the magic eye. Inside one of the large rooms on the first floor, a group of people-magic people-assembled together.

"Black," a cold, high-pitched voice called out. "Bellatrix."

A tall, thin figure stepped out from a group of cloaked wizards who gathered around a mysterious man who seemed to be their leader. The figure took off the hood to reveal a young woman's face. She could have been beautiful if her eyes did not glint with evil and her mouth did not possess a wicked smile.

"Yes, master?" she purred, slinking up to the leader. When she was just two inches away from him, he signaled for her to move back, and she did, not the least bit embarrassed. The witch gave him a small, evil smirk, never taking her eyes off of him. She licked her lips slowly, hoping to attract his attention so that she could spend the night with him (A/N Torturing innocent people, of course. What were you thinking!).

"Stop this nonsense, Black. I have an important assignment for you," her master said, slightly amused. He turned to two Death Eaters stationed at the doorway and said, "Bring her in."

The Death Eaters left, and came back shortly with a young girl, about the age of 17. She had curly blonde hair held up into a ponytail. She looked to be around the height of 5'6", and seemed quite strong. Her bright gray eyes had the same evil glint as Bellatrix's, except with a hint of eagerness as well. She also shared the smile.

"Bagley, Becki. You have proven to be a worthy Death Eater," the high voice stated, looking down on Becki. She looked back at him defiantly. "Bellatrix Black here is one of my favorites. She will be your guide. After a series of assignments and a certain number of tortures or killings, you will be branded with the sign of a Death Eater and honored among us."

Bellatrix looked very pleased by her master's comment about being one of his favorites. She glanced sideways at Becki Bagley and frowned. _This girl could easily be one of his favorites as well,_ she thought selfishly.

"Well, Bagley, why don't we start your training by some practice on Muggles?" she offered with a false smile.

"Of course," Becki replied, her smile widening even more as she flexed her muscles. The two of them disapparated at the same time with a loud crack.

"My Lord, do you think it's wise to let another woman join?" a rather smart Death Eater asked the leader. "We already have three."

"Of course it's wise. That girl helped trick Dumbledore into thinking mere seventh years were Death Eaters," the Dark Lord snapped at his servant.

"So now what?" another Death Eater asked.

The Dark Lord gave a cold, frenzied laugh. "Now we see if she can kill her only childhood playmate."

A/N: There you go. Fourth chapter done, thanks to much pestering by POTC Freak. So I guess I'll be taking reviews for a month or two, and if at least five reviews are from new reviewers to the story, then I guess I'll have to continue. Sorry to disappoint those of you who actually read it. Thanks!


	5. Dobby and Winky Leave

Disclaimer: Do not and will not own any of JK's stuff…

WARNING: This chapter is a bit ugly in the beginning because of some torturing. It doesn't go too much into the details though.

A/N: Well…I guess if I'm updating this…it means Becki must have been bugging me to. And the title of this chapter sucks, I know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Escape From Hogwarts-Chapter 5: Dobby and Winky Leave**

"So where exactly are we?" Bagley asked Bellatrix. They were standing in an open field covered in snow with a frozen pond in the distance. Two people, a girl and a boy, were standing by the pond, holding hands and talking. They wore thick winter coats and hats to warm their heads. Becki squinted a little, and gasped when she recognized the girl.

"Yes, that's her," Bellatrix said, amused. "Your job is to torture her then kill her without mercy."

Becki didn't reply. She was thinking hard…really hard. This girl was her best friend when they were little. Even though Becki lived in a wizarding neighborhood, she was sent to the same place this girl was as a child. They shared the same cubby, had their first glass of milk and cookies together, and were bullied by the older kids together. When Becki left for Hogwarts, she promised her friend that she would write, but had never gotten the chance to. Now she was standing here, and being ordered to kill her first best friend.

"That was the past," Becki whispered. "This is my future."

She walked up slowly to her friend and the boy. "Frances?" she called out. The dark-haired girl turned around, confused for a moment. Then her eyes widened and she took a step closer to Becki.

"Becki? Is that you?" Frances cried, running to give her a hug. "Wow! I haven't seen you in ages! You promised you would write to me."

"Yes, well, I was pretty busy," Becki said, somewhat coldly. She stepped back from Frances, leaving her friend confused. "And I did write to you once, when I first got to my new school. You never replied to that letter though."

"But I did. I put it on your doorstep. Then I saw a strange little creature snatch it and run back inside the house," Frances insisted.

"Oh. Elma the house elf," Becki muttered under her breath. "Curse you, Elma. So who's the guy?"

Frances giggled a bit, as if she thought that the awkwardness between them had suddenly disappeared. She acknowledged the boy that she was holding hands with earlier. "His name is Ben. He moved here from France and well, we sort of fell in love. We're getting married in June!" Frances exclaimed happily, kissing her fiancé.

"Right," Becki replied with a twisted face. This was getting a little too sick for her. Kissing and cuddling just weren't her thing. Getting a husband from an arranged marriage and being forced to produce children was one thing, kissing in public was another. Actually, just kissing in general was too bad for Becki to witness.

"Hurry it up, Bagley, or else I'm marking you down for 'failed' on your report," Bellatrix hissed quietly so that only Becki could hear. Becki turned and glared towards her hiding spot.

"What are you looking for, Becki?" Frances asked curiously.

"Well, Frances, I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Becki said in her most menacing voice. "But then again, Bellatrix is going to kill you anyway." Her tone was so full of evil that Frances backed up, truly terrified of her childhood playmate. Her eyes contained fear and surprise.

"Hey, you better back off, or else," Ben stepped in front of Frances protectively, staring at Becki boldly in the eye.

"Oh get a life, you filthy Muggle," Becki growled. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at Ben's heart. "_Crucio_!"

At that, Ben's face changed as he writhed in pain. He finally fell to the ground, still shaking from the pain. Frances cried out and fell on her knees, sobbing at the sight of Ben thrashing about. She looked up at Becki with questions in her expression. "What did you do!" she cried out hysterically.

"Step away, Frances," Becki said in a monotone. She didn't want to kill Frances just yet. "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

Ben's body rose up into the air, following Becki's wand. She whisked the wand straight down so that Ben's body followed and slapped the dirt with a sickening crunch. She did this over about five times, until blood and guts were pouring out of his body and his head was rolling around, not attached right to his neck. Bones were sticking out crookedly from every angle and his body was twisted in a strange way. Frances stood on the side watching with a mortified look on her face. Becki stopped for a second to catch her breath, and finally shouted the final words that Ben would hear, if he was still conscious.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" A flash of green light erupted from the tip of Becki's wand and headed straight for Ben. It hit him, and beams of luminous green light jetted out from his eyes, mouth, nose, feet, and hands. The light faded away, and Ben lay there, still bloodied and broken. The only thing different was that his eyes were wide open, and staring into nothingness. Becki put her wand arm down, but did not put away her wand just yet. She watched as Frances bawled at Ben's side while cradling him in her arms, not caring about the bones that poked her or the blood that had reddened the snow and her furry white coat.

"Why did you do this?" Frances screamed hysterically. She stood up and slowly walked up to Becki. Becki took on a defensive position, with her wand to the side of her, ready to strike if Frances made any sudden moves. Her friend stood there, breathing heavily, tears smearing the mascara that dripped down her spotted cheeks. She brought her hand back, and with all the strength that she could muster, slapped Becki so hard in the face that she stumbled back, clutching her stinging cheek. She couldn't feel it, but Becki knew that there was a big red mark in the shape of a hand.

"Whoever you are, I know you're not Becki. Becki was never this cruel, especially to people that meant so much to me," Frances sobbed. She kept walking forward with her hand out, ready to strike again. Becki didn't want to hurt her friend, but she had to get the job done, so she delayed for as long as she could by jumping away from Frances' attempted slaps and refusing to fight back…for now.

Meanwhile, Bellatrix was watching and waiting behind the bushes from a distance. She laughed quietly to herself when the Muggle boy was being tortured, and she let out a chuckle of glee when he was finally annihilated with the killing curse. Then she watched with snorts of impatience while Bagley dodged the Muggle girl's angry fists. Right after Becki had regained herself from a second blow to the face, Bellatrix heard a soft crack from behind her. She whipped herself around, wand ready, and came to face Rodolphus Lestrange, a handsome, dark-haired wizard.

"Hello, Rodolphus. What are you doing here?" Bellatrix asked, slightly annoyed by his sudden and unwanted appearance.

Rodolphus Lestrange, who was always dazzled by Bellatrix's feisty attitude, sidled up to her and putting his arms around her waist, whispered, "The Dark Lord sent me to check on you, Bella dear."

Bellatrix pushed him away and glared at him. Though he liked her as more than a fellow Death Eater, she had no interest in him whatsoever. "Liar. The Dark Lord trusts me," she snarled. "Now leave before I hex you. I can handle this on my own."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and both of their heads turned towards Becki's fight. She had managed to avoid most of her friend's punches, and finally decided to put her under the Imperious Curse for a while.

"Yes, that's it Bagley. Torture her!" Bellatrix said, excited by the violence. She knew that Rodolphus was still there, and told him again to leave her.

"Only if you promise to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor to share an ice cream with me," he pushed. She nodded, not really hearing what he said.

"Ok, ok, whatever. Just go," she growled at him.

Rodolphus prepared to disapparate, and said, "Then it's a date."

Bellatrix turned around to hear a loud crack. She froze to think for a second, then realized that she had just promised Roldophus Lestrange a date, a date that she decided she wouldn't show up for.

Back by the frozen pond, Becki was whispering to herself. "Walk onto the pond and lick the ice."

Frances looked as if she were under a spell, and walked in a zombie-like way out onto the frozen pond. She slipped, since she was only wearing shoes, and fell onto the ice facedown. Upon falling, the young girl stuck her tongue out. Becki waved her wand a bit, and lifted the imperious curse from her former best friend. Frances' eyes that were once glazed over suddenly became open and alert. She tried to speak, but realized that her tongue was stuck to the ice.

"Aww, poor little girl. Do you need me to help you?" Becki said in a babyish voice. Her baby tone turned into a high cackled laugh as she swished and flicked her wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Frances' body jerked up into the air, ripping the top layer of her tongue. Fresh pain pierced her tattered tongue as she tasted the metallic tang of blood. She looked down below and saw a patch of red on the ice. The Muggle girl then heard whooshing in her ears as her body flew down and hit the ice with two sharp cracks; one from her ribs and one from the ice. Becki whipped her wand up and down until Frances' body was just as battered as her lover's, and the ice had cracked so much that it was getting ready to break through.

"Just one more time will do the trick," Becki said through clenched teeth. Even though she had dreamed of becoming a Death Eater and serving the Dark Lord ever since she entered Hogwarts, torturing her best friend was killing her inner well being. She brought her friend down one more time upon the ice, and it finally split apart to reveal dark blue water. She dunked Frances' entire body underneath the surface of the water and kept her there. Only after a couple minutes, she lifted her body up again. She set the girl down on the bank of the pond and dropped her wand, kneeling on the snow. Frances was now gasping hard for air, her skin turning from a purplish blue to normal skin color where there weren't any bruises.

"I can't do it! I can't kill her!" Becki shouted insanely to no one in particular, burying her head in her hands.

Bellatrix sprang from her hiding spot and sprinted across the field of snow. "You bitch! You're assignment was to kill her! And YOU WILL!"

"NO! I can't kill her. She was my best friend," Becki spat right back. She corrected herself. "She IS my best friend."

Bellatrix was furious. Her eyes turned black as coal and she grabbed her own wand from inside her robes. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A jet of green light ejected from the evil witch's wand and aimed straight at the bleeding Muggle at the edge of the pond. It hit Frances dead on, and green light sprouted from her the same way as Ben. Soon enough, she was dead, with her eyes wide open. Blood seeped into the snow as Becki watched from a distance. She didn't want to rush over to her friend. That would have shown that she was weak, and weak was not a good thing when testing to be a Death Eater. She didn't want to just leave either.

"I'll be back," she promised. Then her expressionless face turned to Bellatrix with a hard, cold glare. Becki took out her wand and pointed it at Bellatrix. Her hand shook a little before she shouted, "_Crucio_!"

Bellatrix knew it was coming and jumped out of the way. She took her own wand out and pointed it at Becki, using the same spell. "_Crucio!_"

Becki knew that was coming too, so she tried to get out of the way, but her attempt failed. Bellatrix was a much stronger witch and Death Eater than she was, and there was no way she would win a duel.

"STOP!" a cold voice commanded from above them. The two witches stopped immediately. Bellatrix recognized the voice, and she knelt down, bowing to what seemed like nothing. Becki followed suit; she was pretty sure who had said that.

"I beg for your forgiveness, Master. She attacked me first, so I had to-" Bellatrix pleaded but was cut off by the voice.

"Silence Bella. It was Bagley's job to kill the Muggle. Not yours. If she didn't, points would be taken off. It was not your job to kill her. You will be punished, Bella," the voice stopped for a moment while Bellatrix pounded the ground in anger. "Bagley, you will have points taken off for not killing the target, but you will receive points for killing the other Muggle, the beloved of the target. You will disapparate in one minute, and to my place for your next assignment…which will not be checked by Bella, but myself."

The voice stopped talking and in a minute, Becki felt herself being transported. In the crack of a whip, the two disappeared from the field and any sign of two witches that had been sent to torture and kill Muggles was gone.

* * *

James woke up to find himself in Lily's arms. He panicked for a second, then remembered that she was the one who had came over to his bed. He thought about why she would do that, then remembered that he was crying for Blueberry. James gently got up, trying not to wake Lily, and walked out of the small room, but not before checking to make sure his eyes weren't too puffy. He walked down the passageway and at the end, took out his wand and tapped the cavern wall three times on the little dent in the corner. The wall slid to the side to reveal house elves bustling about, cleaning the breakfast dishes and preparing dinner. He walked tiredly up to a house-elf and said, "Could I have a stack of pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries? And a glass of orange juice?" 

"Yes sir!" the house-elf chirped happily. It rushed off to prepare James' breakfast. Not one second later, a different house-elf rushed into the middle of the kitchen with sparks emitting from its finger.

"The Headmaster is coming! The Headmaster is coming!" it squeaked as loud as it could. James froze for a moment before panicking and quickly dove into a nearby trashcan. He settled himself on whatever was underneath him, something squishy, and peeped through a little hole. The terrified teen watched as the house-elves did a quick cleaning of the kitchen, although they didn't need to because the Headmaster was just too kind to scold them for a messy kitchen. After all, kitchens were supposed to be messy. The portrait-door suddenly opened and in walked Professor Dumbledore with a tall witch dressed in dark green robes.

"What can we do for Headmaster?" a house-elf rushed up to Dumbledore and bowed to him.

"Please get Mrs. Bagnold and myself a table," the Headmaster requested. Several of the house-elves rushed to drag in a table from one of the far corners. Another group of elves brought food over to the table and covered it in pastries and snacks.

"Very loyal house-elves, Dumbledore. I approve," the witch praised the Headmaster.

"Thank you, Millicent. Now, may I ask why you asked to see the kitchens?" the Professor asked politely. He selected one of the lemon-meringue pies and began snacking on it while waiting for the Minister's reply.

"Oh, yes, that's right. Now, there was word that there was a birth of elves at Hogwarts…twin elves," the witch said, hinting at Albus to tell her if she was correct.

"Oh? How wonderful, I have never seen twin elves before," Dumbledore said delightedly.

"Yes, yes, it is very wonderful," Millicent said, frowning. "However, according to the laws of the wizarding world, house-elves are not allowed to have babies. They must give them up for adoption. You know the rules, Headmaster."

Dumbledore seemed to shrink in his seat. He had, indeed, known that there was a birth-and death-in the kitchens. But there was no way to overrule the Minister of Magic. "Indeed Millicent, that is the rule," he said, then beckoned for one of the house-elves to come towards him. "Please show me the twins that were born."

The house-elf scurried away and came back with two beautiful twin elves. Their eyes were not open yet, and their bodies still twice as small as a bowtruckle's. Professor Dumbledore gently picked one up while Millicent Bagnold picked up the other. "Who is the mother?" the Minister asked, softening a little.

"Blueberry died birthing," a house-elf quipped. The others bowed their heads in honor of the deceased elf. "Jaggle is father."

"I see. In that case we must take these twins. What are their names?" Millicent asked.

"Winky and Dobby, miss," Jaggle spoke up.

"Of course. Lucius Malfoy and Bartemius Crouch have requested house-elves. Dobby will go to Malfoy and Winky to Crouch," Mrs. Bagnold said, now talking to Dumbledore. He sighed with defeat as he nodded in approval. The Minister of Magic took the other twin from his arms and left the kitchen with a tip of her hat.

"How could Headmaster let evil woman take babies away?" Jaggle suddenly burst out. "Jaggle lose Blueberry and now other part of Blueberry." The elf burst into tears and sat there with only Strawberry comforting him. She too was sad. The other elves backed away and resumed their work.

"I'm sorry, Jaggle. But it had to be done; I cannot overrule the Minister of Magic. You will see them again someday. I promise," Dumbledore said. Tears shone in his eyes as well as he exited the kitchen.

* * *

A/N: Well this is the end of chapter five…very sad. Anyway, review please! 


End file.
